The Shadow of Jade Mountain
by SnowflakeFoxy
Summary: Stargazer, Moon's sister, is practically invisible. Her life is a dull plain one. That is, until Star meets Darkstalker, learns to control her ability to see into memories, gets a new roommate, and is noticed by Winter, an IceWing prince that she may or may not have a crush on. SnowflakeFoxy and her friend made this. WORKING ON SEQUEL. No author's notes.
1. Prologue- Moonless

Prologue

Secretkeeper rushed to the hollow where her second egg lay hidden. Moon, her first dragonet, followed, her eyes wandering in the mysterious way she had. Tonight, the moons were obscured by clouds. The egg seemed to turn a deeper black, but Secretkeeper did not notice. As the egg cracked, Secretkeeper did not hear until the dragonet let out a faint squawk. Moon held all her attention. The dragonet squawked again and Secretkeeper turned. Her younger daughter was all black, a plain dull black with no silver scales under her wings. Her clear blue eyes were odd, and to Secretkeeper odd was bad. She saw that the black dragonet was staring up at the stars, as if something was there that her mother could not see. "Stargazer," Secretkeeper decided . "I will call you Stargazer." Moon yelped from behind her, and Secretkeeper turned away again.


	2. Chapter 1- Friend in Memory

Chapter 1

"I don't want you to leave me here," Moon said. She fit perfectly under her mother's wing, as if that spot had been shaped by the universe just for her. Stargazer, on the other talon, was behind Moon and her mother, always in her older sister's shadow. Don't get her wrong, Star loved her sister, but it was a bit annoying when no one noticed she was there. Despite how much Moon tried to blend in, everybody noticed her, and no matter how much Star tried to stand out, nobody saw her. Stargazer knew, of course. She knew why Moon was special. Star had seen it in Secretkeeper's memories many times. How Moon had hatched under two full moons, and how her silver egg meant that she had NightWing powers. Star had powers too, but she kept them hidden, and they were powers no one had ever heard of. She could travel into other dragons' memories. She knew Moon had a hard time around other dragons, because of all the thoughts they had that she heard, but for Star it was worse. It felt like seeing a thousand plays all at once, and every time you saw a scene, it gave you a headache. Star felt like she was stronger than Moon sometimes. Moon always complained about her headaches,and Secretkeeper fussed over her, but Star often felt as if the sky had fallen on her head. She never complained, though. Even if she had, her mother wouldn't have realized she was even there. It was as though Star was see-through.

"Queen Coral," Moon recited. Star realized that some SeaWings were flying in, though they looked as if swimming would have been easier for them. "Those two must be her daughters, scince she never lets them out of her sight. I don't know who the other one is," Moon continued. Secretkeeper said something about showing off but Star didn't notice. Tsunami hugged the older daughter, who Star knew from memories was Anemone. The other dragon, according to Coral was Turtle. From the look on Moon's face, she couldn't read this dragon's mind. Star could still see into his memories though. He was an animus.

Moon said something else, and Secretkeeper, as always, acted as if it was the most important thing in the world. Star had had enough. She slipped into the crowd of dragons and went towards the library. She could always go there and talk to Starflight, the NightWing dragonet of destiny. He knew what it was like to be overshadowed by others. When he was younger, he had though that he was the only NightWing without powers, until it was revealed that none of them did. Until Moon, that was. Now Starflight was the blind librarian of Jade Mountain Academy. Star found him behind his desk. His head popped up.

"Star, is that you?" he asked.

Star nodded, then said, "Yes," when she remembered that he couln't see her. He showed her the scroll system with the stamps and handed her a pouch made of black velvet.

"Is that all you came for?" he asked.

" I'd like to borrow a scroll as well, please, " Star answered. "Could I take..." she cast around wildly for an interesting scroll. "Could I take 'The Animus Histories'? " she finished finally.

"Sure," Starflight said, handing her a scroll. "Have you found your cave yet?" he asked her.

" No, " Star replied.

"We had no notification that you were coming, so you get your own private cave," he explained, opening the map on his table and pointing to a cavern near the far side.

Stargazer muttered her thanks and left the room just as Moon walked in with a RainWing. Kinkajou, Star gathered from her memories as the pink and yellow dragonet looked at Starflight.

Kinkajou 's memories:

Glory stands in front of the entire RainWing tribe and promises that all the captives will be freed. Kinkajou cheers, and a few RainWings walk right through where Stargazer is. She is used to this by now, this and the way the silver scales on her forehead,the only ones she has, turn as black as the void which she sees whenever she travels through memories.

Star spins through the void again, and she sees a younger Starflight, with his eyes still intact, facing off against a NightWing. Morrowseer is what Starflight calls him.

Another trip through the void, and Star sees Starflight racing lava in the tunnel, and Clay helping him out, his fireproof scales shielding the young NightWing. Starflight collapses on the floor of the rainforest, his eyes scarred and burned.

End of Kinkajou's memories

Star was thrust out of Kinkajou's memory and was, for the first time, glad that nobody saw her. She hurriedly left the library and walked through the hallways to her cave. Having nothing more to do, she sat on the bed and began reading.

As Stargazer read about Darkstalker, the NightWing animus, and how he wanted to be NightWing king, she was suddenly pulled into the void and another memory came to her.

Unknown memory:

A NightWing dragonet slips a copper bracelet set with moonstones onto the wrist of another. A sudden expression of pure betrayal crosses his face before he falls asleep. The first dragonet carries him and buries him under a pile of rocks in a cave beneath a mountain. She looks back for a moment, as if she wants to stay and die with him, but she makes up her mind and leaves.

End of unknown memory

Star looked up in shock as the memory ended. It was Darkstalker's memory, she was sure of that, but Darkstalker was nowhere near here, and the dragon had to be present for Stargazer to go through their memories.

I am here, a strange voice said. It seemed to resonate within her mind.

Who are you? Star asked it, though she knew the answer.

Darkstalker, the voice answered. I have spoken to your sister, but you are far more interesting.

Star had heard from every NightWing in the tribe that Darkstalker was evil, but faced with his bitter past, she understood what he had done, and not even text evidence from a scroll could change that. So Star stayed up late talking to Darkstalker, and it seemed she had found her first friend.


	3. Chapter 2- Winter

Chapter 2

Star woke up to the sound of the first bell ringing. She yelped and grabbed her scrolls in a hurry. Today, she had a group discussion class, and since she had no winglet, Star decided to join the Jade Winglet with her sister. She got there early and sat in the corner waiting for the others to arrive. Tsunami was there, and as Moon, Kinkajou, and Moon's clawmate, came in, she said,

"Moon, Kinkajou, and Carnelian, right? Oh, be impressed, I've been practicing so hard to memorize all of you. Thirty-five new names! Easy as cows for Starflight,but a whole lot harder for me and Clay, believe me. I mean, it helps that I knew some of you before, of course."

" Like ME! " Kinkajou trilled.

Star saw someone move into the cave, and a small MudWing walked into the cave,and a SeaWing followed close behind. Star didn't recognize the MudWing,but the SeaWing...

"Turtle!" Tsunami said enthusiastically. "Oh,good, I asked to be given your winglet first. Hey everyone, this is my brother. Can you believe I have a brother? Or a million brothers apparently, but I'm just assuming this one's the best since he's here right now." She slung one wing over his shoulders and gave him a toothy grin.

Turtle smiled back at her. "It's true, I am." Turtle turned to the MudWing. "This is my clawmate, Umber."

" Oh! "Kinkajou said. "Clay's brother!"

" That's right, " Umber said.

"Ooo, the Jade Winglet is so cool," Kinkajou said happily. "I wonder who we'll get for our IceWing and SandWing. Does Sunny have any sisters?"

But Star could see Moon's memories, and she knew who they were.

"Actually," Tsunami said, "after yesterday,we decided to switch a couple of dragons around, since you guys seemed like a good match." She flicked her tail at Winter and Qibli as they stepped into the cave. "You've already met, you're all interested in scavengers -we think you'll fit well together."

Everybody introduced themselves, but no one saw Star. The class soon became a crazy area full of shouting dragons. Tsunami bolted to go hunting. Winter started threatening Moon about NightWing powers.

"I wasn't joking!" Tsunami called, swooping by. "We're going hunting! Come on!"

Carnelian stalked to the ledge and leaped out, followed by Umber who glanced at Moon before leaving. Turtle shrugged.

"Whatever you guys decide," he said, and jumped out, leaving Moon, Kinkajou, Qibli, and Winter facing off. Star was there, of course, but she was hidden in the shadows.

"What else are you lying to us about?" Winter asked.

"Hey, igloo-face, that's not cool," Qibli barked.

"Yeah, Moon's in our winglet. We're supposed to support each other," Kinkajou said, bristling.

"All right," Moon said. " But please stop trying to scare me. You are not as terrifying as you think you are, " she added after a moment.

Winter took a surprised step back. "Fine," he said . "You find out the truth about NightWing powers..."

" And you stop threatening everybody, " Kinkajou said.

"Hey, I didn't promise anything about everybody," he said. " I have an IceWing warrior mystique to maintain, after all, come on. " He turned to jump out of the cave, but his eyes caught Star's.

He saw me, Star thought worriedly. Winter just nodded and leaped into the sky, flying with the ease of long practice.

"I'm probably wrong," Qibli said, "but I think my clawmate just made a joke. Is that possible ?"

Moon smiled at him, and Stargazer winced. She knew from one of Winter's haunted memories that NightWings had killed his brother, but Moon was probably listening to his thoughts and not realizing the super obvious; Winter liked her. And Moon was smiling at Qibli in such a soppy way. If Winter ever saw, he'd be devastated. With a start, Star realized that she actually cared about what Winter felt. Did she like him? No. She shook away the thought. I don't even know him. Moon's memories of sparkliness are just rubbing off on me. Moon followed Qibli and Kinkajou off the ledge, and Star hurried after them.


	4. Chapter 3- Hunt

Chapter 3

Stargazer soared through the air. The mountain below her was a thousand shades of brown and grey dappled with some green. Star saw Moon suddenly dive, and realized that a goat was on the ground. Moon killed it, and she was talking to Qibli. It seemed as if she was offering the goat to the SandWing. Star rolled her eyes. Moon had hunted on her own in the rainforest, and Secretkeeper always seemed so impressed by Moon's hunting skills. Star had spent ages trying to hunt well enough to show Secretkeeper, but her mother never seemed the slightest bit interested. So Star had become a better hunter than Moon, though no one ever noticed. As Stargazer saw a snow hare on the ground, Winter dove for it. She swooped under him and flared her wings.

"What are you doing?!" the IceWing prince asked, startled.

Star motioned with her wing for him to remain silent. Soon enough, a hawk dove for the hare. As the giant bird killed the small mammal, Star twisted into a spiral and pinned one of its wings down. It thrashed wildly.

"Help me!" she called. Winter , seemingly understanding what Star was doing, sunk his talons into the other wing, and Stargazer killed it with a bite to the neck.

"How did you do that?" Winter asked suspiciously . "NightWings aren't supposed to be able to hunt."

" I was on my own a lot in the forest, " Star explained. "My mother was always praising Moon,and I wanted her to think I was good as well. But she never did. I'm still her plain, late-hatched daughter." Star didn't know what was the matter with her. Here she was, pouring her feelings out to a dragon she barely knew. "Do you want the hawk or the hare?" she asked, changing the subject.

" What? " Winter asked.

"You helped me catch it," Star explained. "That means you get part of it. Do you want the hawk or the hare?"

" The hawk, " Winter answered. For a moment,Star thought it was because the hawk was bigger, but she realized it reminded the IceWing of his home. Hunting eagles in the sky, often hovering and wondering what was beyond the horizon, flying with his brother.

Star handed him the bird and took the rabbit in her talons. The winglet took their prey back to the eating cave. Moon sat in the corner, eating her goat with Qibli. Kinkajou was eating fruit next to her. Winter was called over by Kinkajou, but he totally ignored her and went to sit with another IceWing which was probably his sister, Icicle.

Star bolted down the hare, and went to her cave. As she began reading a new scroll(she had returned 'The Animus Histories ' the previous day) Darkstalker spoke to her in her mind.

Are you okay? he asked.

Fine, Star answered, but she wasn't really. The prey center had shown her so many memories that she felt dizzy after just a few minutes.

You don't seem fine, Darkstalker told her. You can see memories. Seeing that many, it's a wonder you're as tenuously sane as you are.

Oh, ha ha.

I'm serious. I don't know if any other dragons have your power, but I think I can help you with blocking memories, Darkstalker said.

How? Star asked.

Imagine the sound of ocean waves, Darkstalker said.

I've never heard the ocean,except in Tsunami's memories, Star admitted.

Did you live under a rock? Darkstalker demanded. A memory should work, though. Think of that memory.

Tsunami's memory:

A wave roars onto the beach and crashes around Tsunami's talons. Her webbed claws sink into the wet sand. Her blue wings billow in the wind. She lifts her head breathing in the wild sea air. This is where she's supposed to be. This is her ocean.

"Let me guess," Glory says mockingly behind her. "'You guys, that's the smell of freedom!'"

" Freedom smells a lot like fish, " Starflight observes. "Which, to be clear,is kind of nose-curlingly awful."

" I love it! " Tsunami says.

End of Tsunami's memory

Star focused on the crashing waves from the memory.

Good, Darkstalker said. Now, the next time you see an unwanted memory, imagine the waves crashing over it and washing it away.

I'll try it, Star said. Right now.

She went back to the prey center and almost immediately, a headache crashed on her.

Waves, Stargazer. Waves, Darkstalker said soothingly.

Star focused on Tsunami's memory of the ocean, and looked around for a memory to try Darkstalker's technique on. Kinkajou was remembering how the NightWings captured and imprisoned her and the other RainWings. Star really didn't want to see that, so as Kinkajou got to the gross parts about rotting food with bones, Star imagined a huge tidal wave crashing over and obliterating the memory. It disappeared from her mind, and Kinkajou looked up for a second before looking back again.

I think you should be able to stay among crowds now without dashing off, Darkstalker said.

Thank you! Star sat down in the prey center and relished her new freedom. Now she could be among other dragons without their memories crowding her mind. She was reading her scroll, a particularly good one called 'The Missing Princess ', that Queen Coral supposedly wrote for Tsunami, when somebody shrieked, "Help! The SkyWing! She's come to kill us all!"


	5. Chapter 4- Peril in the Sky

Chapter 4

Star ran to the great hall where the call came from. Starflight was there, and Stargazer could see what he was remembering. A NightWing swooped from the sky and took Starflight from an arena where the SkyWing queen was making him fight to the death, while other NightWings killed the IceWing prisoners that Starflight was forced to fight. The name Queen Scarlet ran through his mind, along with the same NightWing as before, Morrowseer. Morrowseer was Star's father according to Secretkeeper 's memories. Did that mean Star was related to the dragon who blinded Starflight? Stargazer would have to ask him about it later. The stranger in the hall wasn't Scarlet, though. Star was about to tell Starflight, when Moon said something else,and the NightWing dragonet of destiny relaxed. The newcomer was a copper-orange color, and her eyes were like blue fire, different from any other SkyWing's eyes. Clay came into the cave,moving fast despite his limp.

"Peril!" he cried . "You came!"

Events long ago were rushing through his mind, about how this dragon had saved his life twice.

Tsunami didn't look happy. "When we didn't hear from you, we assumed you weren't coming."

" I thought I could find her" Peril said. "But she's nowhere.I don't know where else to look. I'm sorry ."

" Don't be, " Clay said. "We're glad you're here."

Star could see that this was only true for Clay. Everyone else was brimming with hostility, fear, or fury, and in most cases, all three.

"We don't have a group for you," Tsunami said. "We didn't know you were coming, so there's a SkyWing in each winglet already. "

" I don't have to stay," Peril mumbled.

"But I want you to," Clay said , shooting a look at Tsunami. He was remembering the life-saving again. "If Scarlet is looking for you, we'll all be safer together."

" I'll go ask Sunny where we should put you, " Tsunami said, and swept away.

"She can't stay here!" Winter barked, stepping forward. He jabbed a claw at Peril. "That dragon killed more than twenty IceWing prisoners. She was Queen Scarlet's favorite weapon. It's one thing to force us to work with deceitful NightWings and lowborn SandWings, but a straight up murderer? No one is going to stand for this!"

" Besides, she's dangerous, " Icicle added. "Whether she's still working with Queen Scarlet or...not." Her tone of voice made it clear which of those she believed.

"A lot of dragons have done things they need to be forgiven for," Clay pointed out.

Tsunami winced from around the corner and remembered killing a SeaWing, her father, in the arena.

"Especially in the war," Clay added. "The agreement between the queens was amnesty for everyone, no grudges, no revenge."

The other IceWing, Winter's brother shot through Winter's mind again. "Fighting in battle, following orders from your general, that's normal warfare,"he said. " Killing prisoners while they're chained up, or forcing them to fight a monster-how is that forgivable?"

Peril seemed to shrink and burn hotter at the same time.

"Even Queen Ruby hasn't agreed to pardon that dragon,"Icicle put in. "She's been banned from the SkyWing palace, hasn't she?"

" All the more reason to welcome her here, " Clay said. "Where starting over and second chances are the whole point. Come on , let's go see the others," he added diplomatically. Peril followed him out of the cave, and Stargazer left to go to the library as the others dispersed.


	6. Chapter 5- Clawmate

Chapter 5

"Starflight!" Star called out to the librarian .

" Hello Star! " Starflight said cheerfully. "Do you need another scroll?"

" Actually, I came to see how you were doing"

"That's nice of you," Starflight said. "I just heard that you're getting a cavemate. Isn't that exciting? I know you've been lonely lately."

"A cavemate? " Star gasped

"Yup, now you better hurry if you want to meet her."

"Thank you Starflight!" Star called back hurrying to her cave. Coming closer, Star felt like she would burst. If she shared a cave with someone, then they would definitely notice her.

"Hello?" Star called tentatively, sticking her head inside the cave. She stepped in...and found herself face-to-face with Peril.

"Hi," Peril said. Star instinctively backed away. "Oh, you're afraid of me like everybody else," Peril sighed.

"Afraid? No, I just never get noticed, so it came as a surprise to me," Star said. " That you noticed me, that is. My name is Stargazer, but you can call me Star. Why should I be afraid of you? "

"You probably realized, but I'm not a normal dragon," Peril said. "I set fire to everything I touch, so you should stay away."

" Whoa! " Star breathed. "That's..."

" Creepy? " Peril offered. "Insanely terrifying? Monstrous?"

" No, " Star said excitedly, "that's freaking awesome!"

" Really? " Peril asked, hopeful and surprised.

"Really." Star nodded. "C'mon, let's go to the library. I bet there are some scrolls you would like."

" I can't, " Peril said unhappily. "Fire and scrolls..."

" Oh, right. Well, I have one that's pretty good. You want me to read it to you? "

"Would you really?" Peril asked incredulously. Star smiled, but as she pulled the scroll out, she made a mental note to do something nice for Peril. She deserved it.


	7. Chapter 6- Sculpture

Chapter 6

Stargazer stumbled through the hallways of Jade Mountain, trying to find a place to make something for Peril, cursing as she came upon Winter, who had just finished his history lesson with Webs. Star had no idea what about Winter made her so nervous, so...weird, and insecure. He turned his ice-blue gaze toward her.

"You again," he said in a flat voice. "Moon's sister. Where are you going in such a hurry?" The way he said it, it was like he was asking for the sake of asking.

"The...um, the art cave," Star lied. God, why did this IceWing make her tongue-tied?

He grunted noncommittally, and let her pass. As she walked, Star realized that her lie was actually a good idea. The art cave was a perfect place to make something nice for Peril. She stepped in as Moonwatcher walked out, and Stargazer was once again glad that she was practically invisible. The cavern was filled with supplies,and little dragon statues made of wood stood in the corners. Sculpture, Star decided, was the perfect way to make a gift for Peril. It wouldn't burn at the touch like a painting would, so long as it was stone. She settled down at a desk,pulled a hunk of stone from a table, grabbed a chisel and began to she hammered at the rock, Winter walked by and stuck his head into the cave.

"You're doing that wrong," he told her. " You can't hammer it with the chisel, that'll break it in the wrong places and ruin your sculpture. "

"And what do you know about carving?" Stargazer retorted. He was just so annoying and full of himself, she couldn't help it.

"Quite a lot, actually," he replied coolly. "All IceWings take mandatory ice carving lessons, and stone is much the same."

" Okay, " Star conceded. She wanted to make a great gift for Peril, and if Winter could help with that, Star could put up with him awhile.

Winter showed Stargazer how to get the right shape by changing the direction where she was chiseling from, and how to tap at the stone slab instead of banging on it. As he was pointing out the way to make the top of her snowy mountain look lighter, as if there was actually snow, she accidentally hit his wing with her chisel, and he pulled away quickly,yelping in pain.

"Are you okay?" Star asked, concerned. The chisel was fairly sharp,and probably hurt.

"Fine," Winter lied through gritted teeth. The chisel had made a deep cut in his wing, but he wasn't about to tell this NightWing that. She needed to fear IceWings. They were enemies of his tribe, all of them. Even this all black one, and her cool-looking sister, too. Star saw a glimpse of the other IceWing, Winter's brother again, in his mind before the prince turned away and left the cave.

Star turned back to the mountain sculpture, but her mind was in a flurry of activity. Was Winter all right? The cut had hurt him, no matter what he said. Did Moon like Qibli or Winter? Was Darkstalker still there? Would Peril like her gift? She finished the mountain, and admitted (only to herself) that without Winter helping, it would have looked horrid. Picking it up, she heaved it back to her cave.

Peril was delighted. She thanked Star so many times that Star had to ask her to stop. When Star finally got to sleep, the moons were out in the sky, shining brightly as an IceWing's didn't know where that comparison had come from, but it was accurate. Maybe it was just there all along, waiting for something to apply it to, but Star thought that maybe it had something to do with a certain IceWing prince that her sister may or may not like.


	8. Chapter 7- Explosion

Chapter 7

The next day afternoon, the Jade Winglet met with the Silver Winglet in the music cave. Star decided to join them, as she had always loved music. In the rainforest, she had even found a way to make a small harp using vines and wood. The sounds it made were not all that great, but Star was hoping that with a proper instrument, she could play well enough to get noticed, although just being able to play was great. Star followed Moon and the others in, the sounds of the instruments reverberating among the cave walls. All the dragons were playing in harmony to a tune. Star recognized the song: ' Firestorm ' by the SkyWing band SkyLine. She grabbed a harp and began to play along with Ostrich, Anemone's clawmate. Moon was on the other side of the cave, playing (or trying to play) a mbira. She had no idea what the song was of course. Winter walked into the cave, and Stargazer giggled before she could stop herself. Star couldn't imagine Winter ever playing an walked over to him and found herself saying, "Hey."

" You again. How do you keep popping up wherever I am? " Winter asked suspiciously.

"Wanna play an instrument?" Star asked, not answering him. "It's pretty easy, once you get the hang of it."

" Fine, " Winter conceded. "Here..." he looked around wildly. "I'll use this one." He pulled a big pair of maracas from the shelf. Star stifled a laugh. "I don't think you would like those," she said. "Here, try this." She tossed him a different string instrument that made a deep, scratchy kind of noise. Star began to play again, and Winter did his best to follow the tune, which was better than Moon had done, but as Qibli walked in, Winter threw it down in disgust. Star could see why. With Qibli on the drums, no one could come close to that musical skill. She walked out of the cave, putting her harp down. Harp she could play, but dancing was not her strength, and everybody else was dancing.

Star headed to the history cave for a lesson with the Jade and Gold barreled into the cave and yelled aloud, "Not if it means my friends will all die!" She collapsed on the ground.

Star watched as Winter entered the room and bent over Moon. " What is wrong with you? " he asked, although Star could sense more sympathy behind it than he showed.

"Winter," Moon gasped , shaking her head.

"Some kind of NightWing seizure?" he asked, then flicked his tail and walked towards the history cave again. No, Star wanted to say, NightWing powers, not a seizure. But she couldn't do that, not if it meant betraying her sister.

"You can't go in there," Moon said, lunging and grabbing his forearm.

"What are you doing?" he barked, although Star noticed that he didn't pull away.

"Please don't go in there," Moon begged. "Something terrible is going to- "

She fell, and Winter tried to help her up. "What something terrible?" he said, his voice rising. "How do you know?"

" Hey, leave her alone, " Qibli interjected, coming into the hall. He seemed to suspect that Winter was the reason Moon was scared, but he dismissed the idea. Turtle was right behind him, wondering what was going on.

"Stop!" Moon cried, pulling away from Winter and throwing herself in front of Qibli and Turtle. "Don't go in! No one can go in!"

" Whoa, calm down, " Turtle said gently to Moon. " You're having a panic attack. " After that Star couldn't focus, Moon may have collapsed, this had never happened to her. Although for Star, Moon's pain was normal. So right now Star was in agony with all of the dragons memories of their previous pains rushing into her head. Dramatic, but true.

Star fell to the ground, unnoticed. She could handle pain, but even half of this kind of pain would make any normal dragon collapse. Star wasn't normal, as you can tell, dear reader. She remained unconscious.

That is, until the explosion.


	9. Chapter 8- Kinkajou's Ability

Chapter 8

Winter P.O.V

Everyone was out of the history room. Tamarin, Carnelien and Bigtail were dragged out. Every dragon was safe. "Wait!" Moon suddenly cried out. " My sister is still in there!."

"You have a sister?!" Qibli cried out in indignation. " You never told us you had a SISTER!"

But while Qibli was having his tantrum, Winter was already in and out. "Star!" Moon whisper-yelled - let's not forget, dear reader, Moon was in 'great agony'. Anyways, "Star!" Moon whisper-yelled, seeing her sister covered in burns.

"Talons and tails, that's bad" Qibli whispered in shock.

Kinkajou's P.O.V

Later on, after Winter had stormed off. Kinkajou went to see Tamarin in the infirmary. Slipping in she saw Winter sitting by Star's bed wordlessly. So, Kinkajou saw a momentous opportunity. Playing matchmaker, Kinkajou crept up behind Winter as silently as she could, completely forgetting that Winter was an IceWing and IceWings were aware of how to hunt and/or hear clumsy RainWings behind them.

"What do you want?" Winter asked without turning around.

"Mangoes!" Kinkajou cursed, not knowing any other swear words.

"How is that supposed to be a swear word?" Winter asked still not moving.

"Whatever, just mangoes. Also, mangoes is a perfectly good swear word!"

"Now onto my question," Winter said. "What do you want?"

" What do I want? What I want, is to know why you are sitting by the bed of a certain dragon. "

"Ummm," Winter stuttered turning as red as you can get with IceWing scales.

"Aha!" Kinkajou leaped. "You like her!"

" No I don't! " Winter protested.

"Winter and Star sitting in a mango tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!" Kinkajou sang, teasing Winter, which was probably not a smart thing to do. Although, what RainWings lacked in intelligence , they made up for in sheer cheerfulness and the ability to annoy IceWings.

"Shut up." Winter went back to watching Star.

"I notice you aren't denying it," Kinkajou exclaimed, grinning.

"Could you be a bit louder? I think there's a few dragons that haven't heard you," Winter said sarcastically.

"All right," Kinkajou said, taking a deep breath as if to yell to the whole school.

"Nonononono! I was being sarcastic!" Winter broke in hurriedly. "I don't want the whole school to know I like her!"

" Aha! " Kinkajou leaped "You just admitted it, you like her!"

With that, Winter groaned in embarrassment and put his wings over his head and Kinkajou hopped away happy with the fact that she now had emotional leverage on the annoying IceWing whenever she was going to need it.


	10. Chapter 9- Subconscious

Chapter 9

Star was arguing with her subconscious again.

He is approachable, her confident side argued.

No way, her sideline self protested. Besides, he totally has a thing for Moon. It would just be plain embarrassing to admit anything.

Are we talking about the same IceWing prince here? He's never been as nice to anyone else, except Moon. Correction, he's never been nice to anyone else but You. You even convinced him to play an instrument which he would have never done in a million years, ya hear me?

Of course I hear you, we're talking to each other. Can we talk about something else now?

Oh, sure... Star's brave side cut in. How about we discuss the great value of NOT MAKING EXCUSES?

Oh, three moons! Star's mind groaned. That explosion hurt, you know. I'm going to sleep. That way, I won't have to listen to you. You can't get to my dreams.

No, came the reply, but you'll have to wake up and face reality sometime. I'll be waiting for you then.

Star ignored the comment and let herself slip into blissful sleep, away from the pain around her, both physical and emotional


	11. Chapter 10- Promise

Chapter 10

Some Months Later...

Star woke up and, for the first time, stayed awake. Moon was nearby, and she squealed happily when she saw that Star was conscious, "Star you're awake, and just in time for the party!"

"What party?" Star asked, confused and dazed after a long time unconscious.

"The party for the defeat of Darkstalker of course," Moon said enthusiastically, then flicked her forehead with her tail. "Of course, you were unconscious when all that happened. Well, it's gonna be great!"

"Sure, I'm coming," Star said, faking enthusiasm , "but since when do you like parties?"

"Oh, no reason!" Moon chirped airily, and dashed out of the cave, making Star think she was hiding something.

"Great," Star grumbled after Moon was gone. "Now I'm alone again."

"No you're not!" Kinkajou sang, poking her head from the shadows. The rest of her rippled into view, a bright highlighter yellow.

"Kinkajou?" Star yelped.

"And Qibli," the SandWing piped up.

"Turtle's here too," Kinkajou put in. "And Winter was trying to hide behind my camouflage scales, but now he's sneaking out of the room instead- Get back here!" She dove after Winter and caught his tail.

"Winter?" Star found herself blushing, and ducked her snout under her leaf blankets. "What are you doing here?" Her voice was muffled.

"I, er, came to visit of course," he stuttered. "An IceWing never does something without a purpose."

" Are you coming to the party? " Kinkajou interrupted. "Cause if you are, you're not going looking like that! You need... Silver! That's it, silver! And also some of those flowers from the rainforest, the blue and white ones that Winter likes." She shot a sly glance at Winter, who turned hibiscus red and glared at the little RainWing.

"Sure," Star said. In her mind, she called for Darkstalker. Are you okay?

It might just have been her imagination, but Star thought she heard a reply.

I am fine, Stargazer. Locked away in the back of my own mind, but someone will release me one day. Do not worry about me, Stargazer.

It wasn't her imagination, then. Star smiled and followed Kinkajou. I will free you somehow, she promised him. Unless someone else frees you first.


	12. Epilogue- Forever

Epilogue

Winter turned back as Kinkajou leaped into the woods in search of a scavenger. Star stood there, her blue eyes pleading.

"Don't go..." she whispered.

"I have to," Winter said gently, " but I will come back, okay? "

"And I'll visit you," Star promised . "You better have built Sanctuary by then, got it?" Her voice broke, and she turned to take off, her wings catching the air like a kite.

" I'm sorry... " Winter murmured when she was gone.

"Are you coming?" Kinkajou called from the woods.

"Sure," Winter said. " Just a minute."

Kinkajou dashed away. Winter continued standing.

There were a thousand things that Winter wanted to tell Star. "I guess I can wait. I could wait forever to be with her..."


End file.
